Baring the soul with intensity

By GRAHAM REID

The success of the short tour by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings - three concerts in Wellington, moved to a bigger venue in Auckland - is proof that in this time of belligerent, manufactured music there is an audience for something which works with subtlety on the emotions.

On paper the acoustic music of the duo doesn't read well: it falls into the lineage of old-time Americana with aspects of country, blues and folk. The shorthand also says it sings of the Saviour, death and loneliness. Sometimes with banjo.

Last night in a set which achieved a rare intimacy in a large venue Welch and Rawlings sidestepped that expectation and delivered a lengthy show which at times was joyous and celebratory, and at others drew rousing applause, notably for Rawlings' exceptional guitar work which, while it has elements of all those earlier references, stands alone as something distinctive.

It is a rare artist who will open with their signature tune, the kind of thing most save for the crowd-pleasing encore. But with Orphan Girl and then the traditional Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor delivered early, the pair were free to reach back to their breakthrough album Time (The Revelator) for Elvis Presley Blues and I Want to Sing That Rock And Roll.

Of course they don't sing rock 'n roll and some in the audience were restless as one acoustic ballad followed another. But for fans this was a night to cherish as the pair pulled out material from their most recent album and, in the second half, tore up a storm in the splendid solo work of Rawlings on Time.

This is demanding music - but what they deliver is neither sepia-toned nor old-time. It is contemporary music with history, soul and a human heart, and offered with a rare intensity.

Review

* Who: Gillian Welch and David Rawlings

* Where: St James Theatre, last night

* Reviewer: Graham Reid